Defense is the subject as Flyers reach draft

Will the Flyers use the 21st overall pick in tomorrow's NHL draft to select a player who, down the road, will give their defense a boost?

Or will they send that pick, along with some players on their current roster, for the rights to a proven defenseman such as Jay Bouwmeester, a potential free agent from Florida?

Welcome to the intriguing two-day draft, which will be held in Montreal tomorrow (Round 1 on Versus at 7 p.m.) and Saturday (Rounds 2-7).

In addition to the young talent that will be selected - NHL-ready players such as center John Tavares and 6-foot-6 Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman are expected to be chosen Nos.1 and 2, respectively, by the Islanders and Tampa Bay - there will probably be lots of dealing as some general managers acquire the rights of players who can become free agents Wednesday.

Bouwmeester, Mike Komisarek (Montreal), and Francois Beauchemin (Anaheim) are among the free-agent defensemen who are on the Flyers' radar screen.

That said, Peter Luukko, the Comcast-Spectacor president, doesn't think it's mandatory that the Flyers improve their blueliners.

"I think our defense is good the way it is now, and there's no pressure for us to upgrade that position," he said yesterday from Montreal. Luukko said general manager Paul Holmgren had "built a defense that is growing together, and we don't [necessarily] have to do anything. It's a good position to be in."

But the addition of Bouwmeester would give the defense a much-needed offensive jolt. The Flyers' defense was last in the league with 20 goals last season. Bouwmeester collected 15 goals and 27 assists but was a minus-2 during the season.

The Flyers seem to have run into a roadblock with Bouwmeester, who appears content to wait until the free-agent period starts Wednesday before he talks to teams.

Before the start of the free-agent period, a player can tell his team - in Bouwmeester's case, Florida - he is willing to talk with a team that is interested in acquiring his rights.

Bouwmeester has not given the Flyers permission to talk with him and see if he would sign for X amount of dollars before they made a deal for him.

He apparently hasn't given any team permission, an NHL source said.

"My gut sense is that they can't get him to agree to talk to anybody now," said a Flyers official who asked to remain anonymous. "That's the wrinkle."

The Flyers had been hoping to talk with Bouwmeester before the free-agent period, as they did before dealing for Nashville's Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell in 2007.

Perhaps Bouwmeester will have a change of heart in the next few days, because teams are hungry to make predraft deals, many of which hinge on the signability of potential free agents.

As for the draft, the Flyers are confident a quality player will be available at No.21. The draft is especially deep in defensemen.

"We try to do due diligence and get the best player we can," said Chris Pryor, the Flyers' director of hockey operations. "And if it happens to be a defenseman, that's great."

Among the highly regarded defensemen who might be available at No.21: Tim Erixon, Dmitry Kulikov, Dylan Olsen, Ryan Ellis, Sami Vatanen, and Simon Bertilsson.

"We've seen all those guys and spent a lot of time in Sweden and know there's a very good group there this year," Pryor said.

Pryor said he would be "mildly surprised" if a goalie was selected in the first round. The top-rated goalies are Robin Lehner, Matthew Hackett, and Olivier Roy. None is expected to be available when the Flyers make their second pick, at No.81, in the third round.

The Flyers traded their No.2 selection for Vinny Prospal in 2008; they are trying to make a deal for a No.2 pick and, if successful, might select one of the goalies.

As for this season, the Flyers will officially sign free-agent Ray Emery on Wednesday to be their No.1 goalie. The Flyers might go with unproven Johan Backlund as their backup, re-sign Antero Niittymaki, or lure Robert Esche from Russia. They have also expressed interest in Florida's Craig Anderson, a potential free agent who had a 2.71 goals-against average and .924 save percentage last season.

Breakaways. All signs point to the Flyers facing the Boston Bruins at Fenway Park in the NHL's third annual Winter Classic on Jan.1. An announcement is expected in a few weeks. . . . Holmgren said some progress was made in his attempt to re-sign Mike Knuble.